Feudal lords issue death verdict for teenage girl

DADU: Influential landlords of the village of Hoot Khan Shahani declared a teenage girl as kari in a meeting on Wednesday and decided to kill her if her family did not leave the village ‘within 24 hours’, according to a written complaint submitted to Dadu SSP by the girl’s father.

Mehmood Shahani, the girl’s father, said in the complaint that feudal lords, Sabz Ali, Jaind and Mehran, had branded his 13-year-old innocent daughter as kari.

He said the feudal lords were his close relatives but they were rich, but he was a poor farm worker and could not confront them. They had warned that if he did not leave the village within 24 hours, his daughter would be killed, he said.

He told Dawn that action would be taken against the accused in accordance with relevant laws. Security had been provided to the girl and raids were being conducted to arrest the accused, he said.

Mehmood Shahani told reporters that Gaji Shah police were openly supporting the influential persons and said he feared that if they were not arrested his daughter would be killed.

He said that rights activists of Dadu town had turned a deaf ear to his pleas when he sought their help in the matter.

On the other hand, the SHO of Gaji Shah said the girl’s father refused to get police security and stopped policemen from guarding his house when they were deployed there for security. He said that Mehmood Shahani had a dispute with Sabz Ali, Jaind and Mehran over matrimonial issues. Mehran and Jaind were government servants and they were not in the village but Mehmood was blaming them, he said.

He said that families of Mehmood and Jaind had decided some 10 years ago that Mehmood’s daughter would be married to his nephew Jamal. But now he was trying to go back on his word, he said.